Ingredients
| 1 ball of fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into bite-sized pieces | |
| fresh lemon leaves, blanched to make them flexible | |
| sea salt and freshly ground black peppe | |
| lemon zest, to garnish (optional) | |
| good-quality extra virgin olive oil and bread, to serve |
I’m always very keen to use the leaves of the fragrant Amalfi lemon trees whenever possible. Maybe you are lucky enough to have a tree in your garden or could visit a local greengrocer to see if they have a beautiful box of Amalfi lemons that you could take a few lemon leaves from to try this dish. Lemon leaves also work well as a base when cooking fresh fish – the volatile oils in the leaves are just below the surface, and all the aromas and flavour are captured perfectly as they seep through the fish.
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
| 1. | Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. |
| 2. | Depending on the size of the leaves, wrap a piece of fresh buffalo mozzarella in one or more leaves, seasoning the cheese well before enclosing it within the leaf. |
| 3. | Place on the lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes. Remove from the oven, undo the leaf to reveal the mozzarella and top with lemon zest if desired. |
| 4. | Enjoy with fabulous oil and bread. |
Cucina di Amalfi
by Ursula Ferrigno,
published by Ryland
Peters & Small,
photography by Nassima
Rothacker, distributed by
bookreps.co.nz, $49.99.